How to Increase Mass Attendance/Grow a Parish?

[Bull]

I do believe it is up to the Priest to decide if someone is divorced should receive Holy Communion. That is if they do not have an Annulment. It is simular to receiving Holy Communion. You must be in a state of Grace to receive Holy Communion. If not, you must refrain from receiving it.

If one is divorced in a secular sense from their spouse but is celibate they can most certainly receive Holy Communion if there are no other unabsolved mortal sins on one’s soul.

A secular divorce is not a sin nor does it keep one in a state of mortal sin by itself. It’s not even something that is recognized by the Church.

 

[Malkin71]

If one is divorced in a secular sense from their spouse but is celibate they can most certainly receive Holy Communion if there are no other unabsolved mortal sins on one’s soul.

A secular divorce is not a sin nor does it keep one in a state of mortal sin by itself. It’s not even something that is recognized by the Church.

If the couple was married outside of the Church and were divorced. They can remarry in a Church. Because in the eyes of the Church, they were married in the eyes of the State. They were not married in the eyes of the Church.

Now if the marriage was not validated in the Church and the couple had relations they must refrain from Holy Communion and go to Confession and get their marriage validated by the Church. Then they can receive Holy Communion.

If the Marriage was not validated by the Church, and the couple divorced, they need to go to confession then they can receive Holy Communion.

Anyone can get married by The Justice of the Peace or go to Las Vegas for a "drive through, quick in and out, state certified, Marriage License. To be married in a Church makes it more. Makes it complete. You have God’s blessing.

 

[Bull]

If the couple was married outside of the Church and were divorced. They can remarry in a Church. Because in the eyes of the Church, they were married in the eyes of the State. They were not married in the eyes of the Church.

Now if the marriage was not validated in the Church and the couple had relations they must refrain from Holy Communion and go to Confession and get their marriage validated by the Church. Then they can receive Holy Communion.

If the Marriage was not validated by the Church, and the couple divorced, they need to go to confession then they can receive Holy Communion.

Anyone can get married by The Justice of the Peace or go to Las Vegas for a "drive through, quick in and out, state certified, Marriage License. To be married in a Church makes it more. Makes it complete. You have God’s blessing.

If two people were married outside of the Church they could go to communion after going to confession so long as they remained celibate until their marriage was convalidated.

 

[Bluegoat]

If the couple was married outside of the Church and were divorced. They can remarry in a Church. Because in the eyes of the Church, they were married in the eyes of the State. They were not married in the eyes of the Church.

Now if the marriage was not validated in the Church and the couple had relations they must refrain from Holy Communion and go to Confession and get their marriage validated by the Church. Then they can receive Holy Communion.

If the Marriage was not validated by the Church, and the couple divorced, they need to go to confession then they can receive Holy Communion.

Anyone can get married by The Justice of the Peace or go to Las Vegas for a "drive through, quick in and out, state certified, Marriage License. To be married in a Church makes it more. Makes it complete. You have God’s blessing.

No, they could not remarry in the CC until their previous marriage had been annulled - depending on the circumstances it might not be difficult. Valid marriages can take place outside of the Church - all those Old testament fellows had real marriages even though there was no Church and there was no Sacrament of marriage yet.

 

[libman]

Timely topic. At our Parish (it is roughly 25 years old with 4,000 Families registered) we are at the very beginning of an Endowment initiative. Our first meeting had us discussing, among other things, attendance at Mass. Ours is at 25% or so. My sense is that too may of us view this number as acceptable since “it is happening all over”. I have read many of the posted comments and they are very good. My belief is that those churches that have higher attendance, higher giving and a higher ratio of vocations are those that have a higher degree of reverence, have Perpetual Adoration, adhere strictly to the Church’s teaching on all matters, etc. I think you get my point here. Back to our meeting, after hearing some of the ideas (one idea was to shorten the Mass in hopes of attracting some) I suggested, simply, that we need to be “more Catholic.”

So, I would like to ask of our readers, if yours is a parish that does have higher attendance (higher than say 40%), higher vocations, to what do you attribute this. I don’t mind being proven wrong with my assumptions. My intent is to help my Parish increase attendance and, as one person wrote, have the focus on saving souls and the rest will take care of itself. Any comments or ideas would be most welcome. (By they way, I cannot recall any of our Parishoners who have, in my 15 years, decided on a religious vocation) Thank you and may God Bless You. +

 

[Malkin71]

If two people were married outside of the Church they could go to communion after going to confession so long as they remained celibate until their marriage was convalidated.

Yes. As long as they “remain celibate”. I forgot to add that.

 

[Bull]

Timely topic. At our Parish (it is roughly 25 years old with 4,000 Families registered) we are at the very beginning of an Endowment initiative. Our first meeting had us discussing, among other things, attendance at Mass. Ours is at 25% or so. My sense is that too may of us view this number as acceptable since “it is happening all over”. I have read many of the posted comments and they are very good. My belief is that those churches that have higher attendance, higher giving and a higher ratio of vocations are those that have a higher degree of reverence, have Perpetual Adoration, adhere strictly to the Church’s teaching on all matters, etc. I think you get my point here. Back to our meeting, after hearing some of the ideas (one idea was to shorten the Mass in hopes of attracting some) I suggested, simply, that we need to be “more Catholic.”

So, I would like to ask of our readers, if yours is a parish that does have higher attendance (higher than say 40%), higher vocations, to what do you attribute this. I don’t mind being proven wrong with my assumptions. My intent is to help my Parish increase attendance and, as one person wrote, have the focus on saving souls and the rest will take care of itself. Any comments or ideas would be most welcome. (By they way, I cannot recall any of our Parishoners who have, in my 15 years, decided on a religious vocation) Thank you and may God Bless You. +

I think one of the first things many parishes need to do is develop an honest census. My parish might have 5,000 registered families but how many of them actually take part in parish life even as C&E Catholics? My house continues to receive major mailings from my own parish for someone that passed away over 30 years ago (previous owner.) We have brought it to the attention of the parish office a handful of times over the past couple of decades with no change.

I think possibly the best way to do this is have a new sign-up period for the parish. That way current addresses and e-mails can be collected as well to form the database needed to effectively communicate with the parish.

I think possibly the single biggest turn-off is when people act in a severe manner. Those that take themselves too seriously can really have a negative effect on a parish. I see it in my own parish with the EF Mass crowd. They have been desperately trying to increase attendance to their 10:00 Mass ever since the MP was released with little success. And they won’t have any success until people stop acting as they do.

 

[jmcrae]

I think one of the first things many parishes need to do is develop an honest census. My parish might have 5,000 registered families but how many of them actually take part in parish life even as C&E Catholics? My house continues to receive major mailings from my own parish for someone that passed away over 30 years ago (previous owner.) We have brought it to the attention of the parish office a handful of times over the past couple of decades with no change.

Parish data-base programs are not designed with deleting in mind. I know our own parish secretary hasn’t yet figured out how the “delete” function works in our program. And it is required by the Diocese that we have to use that program and no other. She would be fired if she just (name removed by moderator)ut the data into a Microsoft Excel program.

I think possibly the single biggest turn-off is when people act in a severe manner. Those that take themselves too seriously can really have a negative effect on a parish. I see it in my own parish with the EF Mass crowd. They have been desperately trying to increase attendance to their 10:00 Mass ever since the MP was released with little success. And they won’t have any success until people stop acting as they do.

Good point. You have to act like you’re happy to be there, to start with, and as if it were making you a better person - more pleasant to be around, generally. No one wants to be part of something that seems to be producing cranks.

 

[Malkin71]

No, they could not remarry in the CC until their previous marriage had been annulled - depending on the circumstances it might not be difficult. Valid marriages can take place outside of the Church - all those Old testament fellows had real marriages even though there was no Church and there was no Sacrament of marriage yet.

Yes they can! If a couple was married outside the Catholic Church. They can remarry in a Catholic Church if they went to Confession.

Protestant Churches are not in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Only the Catholic Church and The Orthodox Chuch have Apostolic succession and a True Church.

Also, according to the former head of the Sacraments in the Vatican. Both the Orthodox and Catholic Church have valid 7 Sacraments. The Orthodox Church May be in a “irregular” state with the Catholic Church now. But, their Sacraments are valid. Many on both sides do not understand the situation.

An “Annulment” is basically saying a marriage never occured.

 

[Bull]

Yes they can! If a couple was married outside the Catholic Church. They can remarry in a Catholic Church if they went to Confession.

Protestant Churches are not in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Only the Catholic Church and The Orthodox Chuch have Apostolic succession and a True Church.

Also, according to the former head of the Sacraments in the Vatican. Both the Orthodox and Catholic Church have valid 7 Sacraments. The Orthodox Church May be in a “irregular” state with the Catholic Church now. But, their Sacraments are valid. Many on both sides do not understand the situation.

An “Annulment” is basically saying a marriage never occured.

Be very careful about leading people astray…

Let’s take two situations. #1: a Catholic marries a Lutheran in a valid (from a Lutheran standpoint) Lutheran ceremony.
#2: a Catholic marries a Lutheran at city hall by a justice of the peace. The Catholic Church DOES look at these two situations differently so beware of giving bad advice.

 

[Bull]

Parish data-base programs are not designed with deleting in mind. I know our own parish secretary hasn’t yet figured out how the “delete” function works in our program. And it is required by the Diocese that we have to use that program and no other. She would be fired if she just (name removed by moderator)ut the data into a Microsoft Excel program.

Sure they are – and in that case she needs to learn.

 

[Cat]

Timely topic. At our Parish (it is roughly 25 years old with 4,000 Families registered) we are at the very beginning of an Endowment initiative. Our first meeting had us discussing, among other things, attendance at Mass. Ours is at 25% or so. My sense is that too may of us view this number as acceptable since “it is happening all over”. I have read many of the posted comments and they are very good. My belief is that those churches that have higher attendance, higher giving and a higher ratio of vocations are those that have a higher degree of reverence, have Perpetual Adoration, adhere strictly to the Church’s teaching on all matters, etc. I think you get my point here. Back to our meeting, after hearing some of the ideas (one idea was to shorten the Mass in hopes of attracting some) I suggested, simply, that we need to be “more Catholic.”

So, I would like to ask of our readers, if yours is a parish that does have higher attendance (higher than say 40%), higher vocations, to what do you attribute this. I don’t mind being proven wrong with my assumptions. My intent is to help my Parish increase attendance and, as one person wrote, have the focus on saving souls and the rest will take care of itself. Any comments or ideas would be most welcome. (By they way, I cannot recall any of our Parishoners who have, in my 15 years, decided on a religious vocation) Thank you and may God Bless You. +

Are you still interested in continuing this discussion? I see that the OP was banned today.

Our parish has a pretty high rate of attendance and involvement (around 7000), and we have quite a few priests and a few religious who have come out of the parish. Off the top of my head, I would say that that the parish offers a lot of variety in Masses and a lot of opportunities to get involved, make friends, and live a Catholic life.

For many years, we’ve had a very beautiful, easily accessible Perpetual Adoration Chapel, which is extremely popular.

We have nine Masses on Sat/Sun, and they are all different, so members can generally find something that fits their preference. (Our city has had TLM since the mid 1980s, with three Masses on Sat/Sun, and also daily TLM, so those who wish to attend this may do so.) The Masses at our parish range from quite traditional to Life Teen. The early Mass on Sunday (very popular, BTW, due to the time) has no music at all. And there is also a Family Mass during the school year, which a large number of families with many small children attend.

Liturgical abuse isn’t an issue in our diocese. Our bishop is one of the most conservative and most orthodox in the U.S.–he and Bishop Burke could be twins! He doesn’t permit abuse of the liturgy. HOWEVER–he does encourage innovations within the rubrics; e.g., he is supportive of the Life Teen Mass.

Our parish offers a rich assortment of activities, ministries, service opportunities, Bible studies, classes, etc… No matter what your interest, from Rosary making to going out to the casinos, you can find something to do and a place in the parish to make friends!

Also, the Youth Group is vibrant and very active. Several hundred teenagers are involved. The Youth Ministers (a married couple) use the Life Teen materials, and these seem to be a good fit at our parish. There are lots of service opportunities for the teens–it’s definitely not just an “entertainment” youth group. Lots of the teens are involved with the Perpetual Adoration Chapel and other devotionals.

I think that perhaps one reason our parish is so vibrant is because it has ferocious competition from the Protestant churches. Willow Creek is only a short commute away, and a spinoff of Willow Creek is right down the street from our parish–the spinoff attracts over 10,000 people every Sunday (our city’s population is only 150,000, so that’s a fairly large percentage attending the spinoff!). We have two other fairly large megachurches in the city located very close to our parish–these churches offer a fantastic array of family activities, classes, and excellent music.

So our parish has to step up and offer the best “Church” possible! I think our parish has done a great job of stepping up and competing with these Protestant churches without losing our “Catholic-ness” and without compromising our faith, morals, or liturgy.

One more thing–I happen to know that there is a faithful group of ladies in our parish who has prayed for years for Protestants to convert. I’m not sure what brought about this little group of ladies, but they are very faithful–and God is faithful to answer their prayers. A sizeable number of ex-evangelical Protestants has converted in the last five years and attends this parish.

 

[awantz]

If your goal is to attract non-Catholics why not ask them?

 

[antonabe]

If people really believe that they are receiving the body and blood of our lord Jesus at Daily mass and that we have the opportunity of having Jesus close to us the attendance at Daily Mass would improve.There is a Website called real presence.org which gives a list of 140 Eucharistic miracle from around the World.Suggest you get a good presenter,a good practising Catholic to study these Miracles and make a presentation with slides etc.This could improve attendance.I am planning to do this myself but in the form of an exhibition.If you cannot find this site try to seach for “Eucharistic Miracles Of The World”

 

[Bluegoat]

Yes they can! If a couple was married outside the Catholic Church. They can remarry in a Catholic Church if they went to Confession.

Protestant Churches are not in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Only the Catholic Church and The Orthodox Chuch have Apostolic succession and a True Church.

Also, according to the former head of the Sacraments in the Vatican. Both the Orthodox and Catholic Church have valid 7 Sacraments. The Orthodox Church May be in a “irregular” state with the Catholic Church now. But, their Sacraments are valid. Many on both sides do not understand the situation.

An “Annulment” is basically saying a marriage never occured.

You are giving out wrong information. Even if they were two Catholics married in city hall they cannot remarry until they have been through the annulment process, although the outcome is very likely in favour of an annulment decree… AND they would have to get a civil divorce. They cannot remarry when already legally bound to another person, even if it is known to have been an invalid marriage - which would not happen in North America in most cases because they will not process an annulment until the civil divorce is settled.

But two Lutherans married in a Lutheran church might well be found to have a valid marriage as long as they understood what the CC considers the true nature of marriage. There is no sacramental need for a priest for marriage from a Catholic perspective (the EO Church disagrees), so the Lutheran couple in question could actually have a sacramental marriage since they are baptized.

 

[antonabe]

You are giving out wrong information. Even if they were two Catholics married in city hall they cannot remarry until they have been through the annulment process, although the outcome is very likely in favour of an annulment decree… AND they would have to get a civil divorce. They cannot remarry when already legally bound to another person, even if it is known to have been an invalid marriage - which would not happen in North America in most cases because they will not process an annulment until the civil divorce is settled.

But two Lutherans married in a Lutheran church might well be found to have a valid marriage as long as they understood what the CC considers the true nature of marriage. There is no sacramental need for a priest for marriage from a Catholic perspective (the EO Church disagrees), so the Lutheran couple in question could actually have a sacramental marriage since they are baptized.

Is this post within the scope of this thread.I thought we are discussssing how to increase attendance at Daily Mass in a Catholic Church.

 

[Malkin71]

You are giving out wrong information. Even if they were two Catholics married in city hall they cannot remarry until they have been through the annulment process, although the outcome is very likely in favour of an annulment decree… AND they would have to get a civil divorce. They cannot remarry when already legally bound to another person, even if it is known to have been an invalid marriage - which would not happen in North America in most cases because they will not process an annulment until the civil divorce is settled.

But two Lutherans married in a Lutheran church might well be found to have a valid marriage as long as they understood what the CC considers the true nature of marriage. There is no sacramental need for a priest for marriage from a Catholic perspective (the EO Church disagrees), so the Lutheran couple in question could actually have a sacramental marriage since they are baptized.

If two Catholics are married in City Hall they are married in the eyes of the State. They are NOT MARRIED in the eyes of the CHURCH. They have to get their Marriage validated in their Parish. Also even if they get a divorce. In the eyes of the church they were never married. They do not need a Catholic Annulment. Because, their marriage was was not validated by the Church.

Lutherans are Protestants. They are not members of the Catholic Church. If they convert and become Catholics and go through the process of becoming Catholics. In going through the process of RICA the will receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Ask a Catholic Priest. He will tell you.

 

[awantz]

If two Catholics are married in City Hall they are married in the eyes of the State. They are NOT MARRIED in the eyes of the CHURCH. They have to get their Marriage validated in their Parish. Also even if they get a divorce. In the eyes of the church they were never married. They do not need a Catholic Annulment. Because, their marriage was was not validated by the Church.

Lutherans are Protestants. They are not members of the Catholic Church. If they convert and become Catholics and go through the process of becoming Catholics. In going through the process of RICA the will receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Ask a Catholic Priest. He will tell you.

This has nothing to do with the thread title, but you are wrong. I was married to a Catholic man outside of the Catholic Church and I had to get an annulment to get remarried with permission of the Catholic Church.

 

[StillWondering]

If two Catholics are married in City Hall they are married in the eyes of the State. They are NOT MARRIED in the eyes of the CHURCH. They have to get their Marriage validated in their Parish. Also even if they get a divorce. In the eyes of the church they were never married. They do not need a Catholic Annulment. Because, their marriage was was not validated by the Church.

Lutherans are Protestants. They are not members of the Catholic Church. If they convert and become Catholics and go through the process of becoming Catholics. In going through the process of RICA the will receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Ask a Catholic Priest. He will tell you.

Sorry for continuing to derail the tread. The OP is now banned, I’m not sure why he was, so that may be the reason it got hijacked. But without the OP, we could continue to be on topic.

As for being off-topic, I just wanted to correct Milkin with this answer from an apologist who are checked by CA staff to ensure they stay orthodox. The question is are civil weddings valid in the eyes of the Church. If you read it, you will see that non-baptized couples who marry without any impediments are considered valid in the eyees of the Church. forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=99044&highlight=civil+wedding+valid

In addition, if you mean sacramental, that is between two baptized individual who marry with proper form and without impediments. For non-Catholic couples they do not need to be married in the Church to be valid and sacramental. However if either party is Catholic then it is not a valid marriage if it’s outside of the Church and does not have a dispensation. If this is the case, they can be convalidated inside the Church but not remarried.

 

[Bluegoat]

In addition, if you mean sacramental, that is between two baptized individual who marry with proper form and without impediments. For non-Catholic couples they do not need to be married in the Church to be valid and sacramental. However if either party is Catholic then it is not a valid marriage if it’s outside of the Church and does not have a dispensation. If this is the case, they can be convalidated inside the Church but not remarried.

If they did not want to continue the marriage however - they would still have to submit it to the marriage tribunal. They couldn’t just decide on their own that it was not a real marriage.